Why did Christ send Paul to preach the gospel instead of to baptize?
Christ sent Paul to preach the gospel, not to baptize, so the cross of Christ would not be made of no effect. Paul prioritized the gospel because baptism was causing divisions, and the gospel alone opens the door, transforms sinners, and creates new creatures in Christ.
Les teaches that the Corinthian believers were getting puffed up over who baptized them, saying they were baptized by Peter, Apollos, or Paul. Paul thanked God he had baptized none of them for that very reason, so no one could claim his name, and he put no importance on water baptism because of the dangers that were so evident. The same dangers divide believers today. In verse 17 Paul says Christ sent him not to baptize but to preach the gospel, lest the cross of Christ be made of no effect. Les explains this as putting first things first: what use are various baptisms if people know nothing of the gospel? The gospel has to open the door. It made pagan Gentiles come out of gross immorality and become new creatures in Christ; it transformed Jewish legalists into people of grace. Paul constantly refers to this gospel: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. That is Paul's gospel and our gospel.
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
More Questions
What does Paul mean when he says Christ sent him not to baptize but to preach the gospel?
In 1 Corinthians 1:17, Paul says he was sent not to baptize but to preach the gospel, meaning that no church practice, not even baptism, and no human eloquence may detract from the gospel because the gospel is the finished work of the cross.